Noah: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 6) Read online

  Shit, he was definitely falling in love. “I’ll see you soon.”

  She made a shooing motion. “Go.”

  He leaned in, his mouth brushing her ear. “We’ll play strip dice again, right before bedtime.”

  “Did I mention I’m not wearing any underwear under this dress?”

  He choked. “Hell, maybe you should come back with me now.”

  She smiled. “Go. It’ll give you some incentive to get your work finished. Fast.”

  And she was right. As Noah shouted goodbyes and hurried to the comp lab, for the first time in a long time, the thoughts of his project were entwined with the thoughts of the woman he wanted to claim as his.

  ***

  After a few hours in the prison cells working with Gaz’da, Laura was headed out to the Swift Wind facility.

  Noah had spent most of the night working in the comp lab. After leaving the party, she’d visited him, but he’d barely noticed she was there. He was onto the solution he’d been searching for, and his preliminary tests had him fired up. She was glad. The problem had been eating at him.

  But he hadn’t come to bed, so he’d been up all night, and now he was with his tech team, ready to do a full test of the illusion system.

  She stepped out of a tunnel and into the morning light. She waited for her eyes to adjust and breathed in the fresh air. If they had to leave here, it would hurt. Blue Mountain Base had become home.

  But they would do what they had to in order to survive. To keep fighting.

  And she’d learned from Noah that in order to survive, she had to learn to let go, relax and enjoy the downtime when they had it. She’d really enjoyed hanging out with Hell Squad. They’d clearly learned what they needed to do in order to get up every day, pick up their carbines and go out and fight. Having their partners, their lovers, the people they cared for…it gave them something to fight for.

  She followed the path down to the hidden door into the Swift Wind facility. Moments later, she was heading down a set of steps.

  She heard voices and the clang of tools. When she stepped into the underground storage area, she saw Noah standing on top of the illusion system vehicle. It was a small flatbed truck with a dual cab at the front and the illusion system taking up most of the back. He was calling down to someone.

  She watched him for a moment. This was the man who’d brought her back to life, dug under her skin, and changed her completely.

  A swift wave of panic seized her. It didn’t mean she still wasn’t terrified. She’d loved Jake. They’d had a wonderful relationship and would have had a happy marriage.

  But now, she had a second chance. With Noah, the relationship was different; not as easy, but maybe more passionate. They pushed at each other and she hoped that would help them make each other better people. She felt like Noah was her port in the storm, and she could be the same for him.

  Because right now, she felt like they were all in the eye of a storm, and the worst was yet to come in this war.

  “Hey,” she called out.

  Noah swiveled. Lines were etched on his face. Tiredness, concentration, intensity. “Hi. Perfect timing, Captain. We’re about to test the system.”

  She nodded. “Well done. I’ll stand back here.”

  She moved back to the wall, and moments later was joined by General Holmes.

  “Adam,” she said quietly. The man looked more tired than Noah. “How are you?”

  “Good, thanks.”

  “Remember my offer to talk is always there.”

  Adam turned to look at her. He had a handsome face, and age was only refining it in a way that made him more attractive. They’d formed a solid friendship over the last eighteen months. A few months ago, if she’d had to pick a man she’d thought suited her, it would have been the clean-cut general, not a moody tech genius.

  But Adam needed someone who’d shake him up a little. He was slowly bowing under the stresses of leadership. As far as she could tell, he had only two modes: if he wasn’t sleeping, he was working to help the base and its residents.

  “I’m fine, Laura. We get this illusion system operational, then I’ll breathe a small sigh of relief. At least then Operation Swift Wind will be complete. We’ll have a back-up plan…just in case.”

  “Turn it on, Danny,” Noah called out, his voice echoing in the confines of the room.

  Laura held her breath and clutched her hands together.

  There was a hum of something being fired up. She couldn’t see the alien cubes anywhere, but she knew they had to be here, somewhere.

  The air shimmered with power and then, all the convoy vehicles in the room blurred and disappeared.

  A cheer went up.

  Noah had disappeared too, but a second later he walked out of the illusion. He slapped his team members on the back. Then he headed toward her and the general.

  “Holmes.” He nodded at Adam. Then, without warning, he grabbed Laura and swung her into his arms.

  She gasped, but then his hungry mouth was on hers. She had no choice but to grab him and hold on.

  When he pulled back, he was grinning.

  “You did it,” she said. “Well done.”

  Suddenly, one of the tech team called out. “Something’s wrong…power readings are off the charts! There’s an overload—”

  Noah scowled. “What?” He started back toward the illusion vehicle.

  Suddenly, sparks exploded from the illusion system. The lights in the room dimmed and the illusion system cut off, the vehicles reappearing into view.

  Smoke started pouring out the top of the illusion system.

  “No!” Noah sprinted over.

  Laura felt like her chest was full of cement. She watched Noah and his team frantically crawling over the vehicle, using fire extinguishers to put out the burning components. Then she heard Noah’s string of curses.

  “Damn,” Adam murmured.

  Noah appeared, his face grim. Laura wanted to smooth those lines away and tell him it would be okay.

  “Whole system is fried.” The words came out harsh, like bullets. “It’ll take months to fix it.”

  Then he turned and strode out of the room without even looking at Laura.

  She closed her eyes. This was not good.

  Chapter Twelve

  Noah stood on the roof, watching the distant horizon. A storm was brewing. A nasty, heaving thunderstorm with big, black clouds and lightning. It would hit hard and fast, then burn itself out.

  He kicked the ground. The roof panels here had been made to look like rock. His mind was turning over—alternating between the disaster of what had happened during the test, and seeing all that tech destroyed.

  Parts were gone, fried, and they couldn’t be replaced easily. It would take him a long time to fix the system and get it anywhere near operational. He looked at the storm again. And that was time he didn’t have.

  “Noah?”

  He’d been so lost in his dark thoughts, he hadn’t heard her. “I’m not good company right now.”

  She moved beside him. “I don’t mind.” A moment of charged silence. “What can I do to help?”

  “Nothing.” He pressed his hands to the back of his head, then swung them down by his sides, restless energy rampaging through him. “I have to start from scratch. You heard Devlin at the party, the aliens are coming this way. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I don’t think we have months.”

  “Noah—”

  When her voice trailed off, he felt his frustration morph. He couldn’t get the illusion system working. And he was afraid, deep down, that he couldn’t get this woman to love him.

  “I’m falling in love with you,” he said baldly.

  She jerked back a little, her wide eyes on his face.

  “Well?” he demanded.

  She looked away. “You kind of sprung it on me.”

  Her face was in profile, but he could see it. Fear written all over her.

  “This is where the going gets tough, Laura.”
He spun her to face him. “This isn’t just about fun, games, and fucking anymore.”

  Say something, he wanted to shout. Instead, she had that look on her face, the one she used to hide her true feelings.

  “I had a woman who just wanted good times.” He spat the words out. “I don’t need another.”

  He saw the color drain out of her cheeks. He knew it was unfair, she hadn’t made him any promises. Hell, she’d told him she didn’t want to risk a relationship and he’d still pushed her.

  But right now he felt like he was drowning, and he needed her. He needed more from her.

  He was afraid it was more than she had to give.

  “We both know you wanted parts of me…but not everything.”

  She’d obviously given Jake her everything. All she’d given Noah was her body.

  And he wanted her heart.

  Silence.

  Noah’s chest constricted. “This is where you say something.”

  She swallowed. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

  Those words arrowed under his skin. Damn, they hurt. “I want you to tell me how you feel. I don’t need you to spout platitudes to make me feel better, I just want the truth.”

  Confusion crossed her features and he realized she really didn’t have anything to say to him.

  He felt the ground shift under him. He’d been falling in love with Laura Bladon, and she’d just been having fun, while keeping her heart locked up tight.

  “If you won’t give yourself to me, all of you, we’re done.”

  All emotion slid out of her face, leaving a composed mask. “Just like that.”

  “You aren’t a coward, Laura. I know you’ve suffered, but you must know we’re good together.”

  “Noah—” Her voice was soft, sympathetic.

  Fuck. This was his last chance to reach her, to offer her the full truth. “I lied before. I’m not falling in love with you, I’m already there. Completely. One hundred percent.”

  She flinched and looked like he’d hit her.

  And there was his final answer.

  He sucked in a deep breath. “And you don’t feel the same way. Right. Fine. Look, I have work to do.” He stepped back, his insides feeling like a shredded mess torn up by raptor claws. “If you finally find the courage to see what’s right in front of your face, come find me. If I’m still around, or still alive.”

  He walked toward the entrance back to the base. At the door, he paused. “Every day is precious, Laura.” He wanted to storm back to her, drag her into his arms, and make her admit that she felt something for him.

  Instead, he didn’t look back.

  He walked away. He had an illusion system to work on. And if there was one thing in life that had never let him down, never made him feel unworthy no matter how challenging it got, it was his work.

  Noah made it back to the Swift Wind facility and threw himself into his work. If his tech team noticed he was working like a man possessed, they didn’t mention it. When it got dark and the others headed back to dinner and their families and their beds, Noah stayed. He worked all night and into the next day.

  Laura never came to see him.

  “You trying to make yourself sick?”

  Elle’s voice made Noah lift his head out from under the propped open cover of the illusion system. He bumped the back of his head on the metal cover and he swore.

  “Danny told me you’ve been working for two days and nights straight.”

  “So?”

  “Noah, you’ve yelled at me when I’ve become obsessed with my work.”

  “Don’t have to now. Marcus just tosses you over his shoulder and carts you off.”

  Elle’s lips twitched for a second. “Then maybe I should have a word with a certain captain. I’m sure she’ll do the equivalent.”

  His heart felt like a lump of rock. He picked up his tools and looked back at the system. “I’m sure she wouldn’t care.”

  “Oh?” Elle’s voice was laden with a multitude of different emotions. Curiosity the loudest.

  “We’re done.”

  “No.”

  “She’s too scared to risk loving again, Elle. I can’t force her to feel something she doesn’t.”

  “That woman looks at you with such…longing. She cares, Noah, I know she does.”

  “Not enough.” Damn, it was like ripping the wound open afresh and letting it bleed all over the place. “Maybe we’re just too different. The straitlaced captain who loved and lost, and the geek who thought he was in love, but was really just a big idiot.”

  “Opposites attract, Noah.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think they can stay together.”

  “Marcus and I proved that wrong. I love him so much.”

  Yeah, they were opposites who somehow clicked. But that didn’t promise the same for others. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

  “Sure.” She leaned closer. “What’s going on here?”

  “Heart of the system is burned out.” He pointed at the charred and blackened parts. It made his gut harden. So much damage. “I don’t have all the parts I need to rebuild it. And even if I did, the alien cubes put off too much power. They’d just burn out again.”

  “So you need stronger materials? That can withstand the extra energy?”

  “Yes, but also something that fits with the existing systems.” He froze. “Hell.”

  “What?”

  “Maybe…what if—” He hurried over to his desk and snatched up some alien parts. Bits from genesis tanks and some alien comp screens. “What if I add the alien tech into ours?” He lifted a bunch of standard wiring. “Opposites in almost every way, but if I can combine them the right way, they could be the right combination. And be stronger for it.”

  Elle tilted her head. “Like you and the captain.”

  He released a breath. “I want us to be together so badly I can’t think straight.”

  “Let me guess, you issued one of your straight-talking ultimatums?”

  He winced. “I wanted to know how she felt.”

  “So you pushed and prodded and demanded?” Elle asked. “On top of you suffering from a lack of sleep and a huge disappointment after the failed test.”

  Shit. “I was an asshole.” Maybe Laura had deserved some of what he said, but if he really loved her, he should have given her some time. A chance to take it all in without him hammering at her, demanding, and throwing down his ultimatums. “Shit.”

  “You’ll win her back, Noah.”

  “Yeah, but right now, I need this illusion system working to keep everyone safe.” To keep Laura safe. And she needed some time and hell, maybe he did too.

  “I’ll leave you to it. Marcus will be looking for me.”

  “Thanks, Elle.”

  She smiled. “Any time. I’m used to dealing with hardheaded males who need a little sense talked into them occasionally.” A cheeky grin. “I’m getting pretty darn good at it.”

  After she’d left, Noah set to work on splicing the alien tech into the guts of the illusion system. There was a risk it wouldn’t work and he’d do more damage, but it was time to take a risk. He worked, took a few cat naps in his desk chair, and worked some more. But he ran into trouble after trouble, and preliminary tests showed it just wasn’t working. Frustrated, he decided it was time to call on the one person who had successfully spliced alien tech into the base’s systems. He reached for his comp and made a call.

  “What?” Reed’s grumpy voice answered.

  “I need Natalya.”

  “She’s taken,” Reed growled. “Find your own woman.”

  “I need her brain, not her body.”

  “All of her is mine.”

  Noah heard a feminine voice in the background and figured Reed was getting a few choice words from his fiancée. “She did work splicing alien tech into the solar power system. I need her help.”

  “It’s four am, Kim.”

  It was? He glanced at his watch. “Shit. Sorr
y. But I still need her help. It’s for the convoy illusion system. I’m not just trying to use the energy cubes to power our system, I want to completely embed them into it.”

  Reed muttered something unintelligible, and a second later, Natalya came on the line. “I’ll be there shortly.” Her voice was sleepy, and he heard a light Russian accent that he didn’t usually notice. “Just let me take a hot shower first because I need to wake up.”

  “Woman loves her showers,” Reed said. “I’ll walk her down to the convoy.”

  “Thanks, Reed.”

  Noah ended the call and sat back in his chair. He wondered what Laura was doing. Was she asleep? Did she miss him? Was she hurting as much as he was? He exhaled loudly. Shit, maybe that was why he didn’t want to go back to his quarters. He didn’t want to sleep without her. Smell her on his sheets.

  He looked at the illusion system. Natalya would be here soon and hell, this idea had a real shot at working. Months of work could be done in days.

  He’d get some work done, then he’d go find his captain.

  Chapter Thirteen

  She missed him.

  Laura sat at her desk in her office, staring off into space. Katrina was working with her today, and the woman had asked Laura about a dozen times if she was okay.

  She’d nodded every time, but no, she wasn’t okay.

  She missed Noah, and it was killing her to stay away from him.

  But he wanted things from her. He wanted everything from her. She wasn’t sure if she could give him her heart and soul.

  She’d heard through the base grapevine that he’d had some breakthrough, and was having some success repairing the illusion system. That was good news. She was happy for him.

  Laura looked down and realized she was doodling on her notepad. Actually, she’d been sketching. A picture of Noah stared back at her, with his brows drawn down in concentration, and his pirate eyes staring intently.

  There was a loud grunt and shout from outside her door. She sighed. Katrina was with their newest prisoner. A large raptor found not too far from Blue Mountain Base. Laura was guessing he was a scout of some description. But so far, he was proving very resistant to questioning and was particularly aggressive.